Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The new year begins...

This is the time of year that the Countess puts her nose to the grindstone....Tax Time!  All the year end accounting and tax preparation take up the first few weeks of the year with NO TIME FOR FUN :(  This makes the Countess a pretty dull girl and she gets a bit cranky. 




We have planned a little jaunt to New York City next week to get back in the party mood.  Our Hit Parade, the show voted Best Cabaret in NYC for 2009, has a big show planned.  My friend C.J. Wilson is in a new play called "Happy Now?" and John Douglas Thompson is a must see in "Emperor Jones".  Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures this time. 




And there is a little thing called a Senate Election here in Massachusetts which is happening today.  It seems our Senate seat holds national importance and there is a lot riding on the outcome.  I'll be voting for Martha Coakley because I still have hope for the Obama agenda and I still feel most Republicans are trying to turn the country into a church that we will all be forced to go to whether we believe or not.





You all have a good week now and if you live in Massachusetts, please VOTE!  This is one election that you can be sure your vote will make a difference.
Countess Bedelia 1/19/2010 08:16:00 AM | 0 comments |

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The earthquake disaster in Haiti

All day I have been monitoring the news and reading reports about the disaster in Haiti.  I can't imagine the devastation and suffering that the Haitian people are enduring as I type this blog....and how can you not be moved by a picture like this...




Thanks to Joe.My.God for the pictures of the Haitian Presidential Palace after and before the quake...





One organization that we can always count on to deliver help in a disaster is the Red Cross.  A donation to them goes directly to the relief efforts.  Click here to make a donation.   Even a donation of $10 goes a long way in a disaster like this.
Countess Bedelia 1/13/2010 03:33:00 PM | 0 comments |

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

WINTER

A friend sent me this poem yesterday and  I thought I would share with you...


I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you.
It was to me, as it's very well written and I hope that you enjoy it too .

' WINTER '


by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre






Shit It's Cold


The End
 
 
This certainly seems to sum up the year so far.  Everyone is frozen from Florida to Maine.  The poor iguanas are falling off the trees.    The lizards go into a type of hibernation when the temperature drops below around 9 degrees C, all body functions but the heart switching off and blood flow cut to a minimum.






But don't throw them in the back of your warmed up station wagon, as was reported here: "a gentleman who was collecting them off the street and throwing them in the back of his station wagon, and all of a sudden these things are coming alive, crawling on his back and almost causing a wreck."
 
 
I did get a Facebook message that Puerto Rico is the place to be...the next five days should be around 80 degrees....sounds good to me.  How does that song go from West Side Story?
 
 

 
Puerto Rico,
You lovely island . . .
Island of tropical breezes.
Always the pineapples growing,
Always the coffee blossoms blowing . . .


My friends are returning from Miami like frozen popsicles.....Puerto Rico sounds pretty good just about now!
Countess Bedelia 1/12/2010 08:50:00 PM | 0 comments |

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Happy New Year, Everyone....So sayeth Tiny Tim!!

There are many lessons to be learned from Tiny Tim, the poor little cripple in Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol".  But most of all we should learn to be greatful for what we have and then to use that knowledge for what we need to attain our goals in life.

After my visit with the Baby Countess' on Christmas, I got out of Dodge.......out to the beautiful Berkshires to see the Berkshire Theatre Festival production of "A Christmas Carol".   The Countess had been invited to play a part in this production and I was still melancholy because I was not able to commit to being in this wonderful play.  If you have seen this production at BTF before and thus have no desire to see it again, think twice....as Scrooge must do before the night ends.  Eric Hill has performed this role for several years now but each year brings a new edge to his performance. 



Has Tiny Tim imparted some new insights into his interpretation of this iconic role?


The next night was New Year's Eve at Rumpy's Tavern......and Yes, The Countess was melancholy because her Knight in Shining Armor, Sir Stew, First Knight of the Berkshires, was not only not going to be in attendance but would not be the New Year's Baby.  But Fred stepped in and filled Stew's diaper.




Ashton baked the most incredible cake for the New Year Birthday Baby....




Sammy Brown kept the music flowing....




And Troy kept the drinks going...




My dear friends Jim and Paula came in to toast the New Year ....



Maybe it was just another New Year's Eve to many of you, but if you were fortunate to spend the night with special friends.....celebrating the success of last year and the promise of next year....then maybe the 'new' Tiny Tim's words still resonate..... "Tiptoe through the tulips with me"



Because Tiny Tim started as a novelty act but became a voice for the disenfranchised of a generation; a time when not conforming was ridiculed.  A man ahead of his time.  Can Dicken's Tiny Tim teach us the same lessons of love and tolerance that the modern day Tiny Tim teaches us?  Do these lessons ever stop being relevent?


Countess Bedelia 1/10/2010 08:57:00 PM | 0 comments |

Saturday, January 02, 2010

What a difference a decade makes....

On February 1, 1999, my beloved husband Bob passed away after a two year battle with leukemia.  Here he is playing cards just a year before he died....so handsome, so full of life. 



When we found out that he had leukemia, we could not believe it.  He wasn't sick, he didn't feel bad.  What was this thing that was supposed to kill him and yet would not give a sign?  It was a year of discovery about cancer and how your life can change so completely that hospital visits become the norm.


During that year I also learned that my beloved cousin, Carolyn, had bone cancer.  Carolyn was born 3 months after me and, because World War II was raging and all the men were gone, we all lived in my grandmother's house.  Carolyn and I shared the same crib and then the same room.  We were sisters before we knew we were cousins.  And even though life took us on different journeys, we were always connected emotionally.



And into this mix came my beautiful dog, Mai-Ling.  I posted about her recently so I won't repeat the history....just that she was with me at the beginning of this decade.



In 1999 I sat with Bob and held his hand as he died; then in May, 2000, I sat with Carolyn and held her hand as she died; then one month later in June, I sat with Mai-Ling and held her paw as she died.  So began this decade for me.


I remember one of my friends asked me at the time, "What are you going to do now?"  And I honestly did not know.  How much can you fight?  How many times can you replenish your spirit?  Life seemed pretty hopeless.  But Bob had told me before he died, "This life is short.  Have as much fun as you can."  After awhile I started thinking about his words and wondered what I could do about bringing joy to my life once again.


The rest is history!  The Countess was born in a Palace on South Beach and hasn't looked back.  She is fortunate to have friends from Miami to Maine.  My life today is a miracle of evolution, most of which you can read about in this blog.  Sometimes I go back in the archives and read about my adventures over the past years and I am amazed that I have fashioned a fantastic life....like a phoenix rising from the ashes...I soar....



Countess Bedelia 1/02/2010 12:09:00 AM | 3 comments |